


One More Night

by abrosuna



Category: Sengoku Basara
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-16
Packaged: 2019-02-15 17:02:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13035546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/abrosuna/pseuds/abrosuna
Summary: Ieyasu knows he should stay away from Mitsunari, but his heart won't listen.





	One More Night

Ieyasu was convinced that he didn’t like Mitsunari. Or rather, he had to convince himself that he didn’t like Mitsunari anymore: he couldn’t afford an involvement with someone whose ideals were so different from his own. He didn’t want to reject the fact that they’d been in love, but he couldn’t allow their affair to go on. Mitsunari was utterly, blindly and irremovably entitled to Lord Hideyoshi, with a loyalty that would’ve been amiable if the man they were serving under hadn’t been so cruel.

Ieyasu used to admire Hideyoshi and share his view of the world, but recently he’d begun to disapprove of his methods more and more. He was starting to form an idea, a new idea of his own, about the need to value the bonds that people already shared and to form new ones, in order to unite the country. He saw that mere strength was indeed allowing the Toyotomi to conquer land after land, drawing them closer and closer to the dream everyone had of unifying the country, but at what price? All he saw behind them was destruction, desolation, and fear. If only instead of imposing their domain they could seek the friendship of the people they won over, and not just forcing them to surrender or devastating their armies… Although he was still working under Lord Hideyoshi, and intended to continue doing so at least for a while, Ieyasu was hiding doubt in his heart, and secretly sought a way to change the situation.

But Mitsunari was different. He was loyal to their lord, and that was all that mattered to him. He faithfully followed orders, never questioning them, never questioning the person they came from. He purely and simply trusted Hideyoshi and Hanbei, Toyotomi’s strategist, and was satisfied with that.

To Ieyasu, Hideyoshi’s faults were so evident he had no idea how Mitsunari couldn’t see them. Perhaps he didn’t even care about seeing them, that was the point.

Despite the divergence of their views, however, Ieyasu didn’t despise this trait of Mitsunari’s. On the contrary, he found it endearing. That man’s heart was so pure and faithful that he would’ve followed his lord into the depths of hell without even blinking. This lack of insight was compensated with the nobility of his soul. And thinking that such a beautiful heart had granted him his love filled Ieyasu with warmth.

Still, he had to do something. If he had let himself be enveloped in that situation even more, he might’ve never been able to get out of it. He loved Mitsunari, he really did, but it would’ve probably been better if he’d stopped doing so. For the both of them. He didn’t want to hurt Mitsunari, because Mitsunari didn’t deserve it. If their ideas could end up making them take separate ways, one day, he wanted to do so peacefully, with no hard feelings. That was why he needed to put an end to that story.

And yet, he couldn’t do it. He tried and he tried, but every time he caught a glimpse of the slender figure of his beloved he wanted to grab him by the hand, pull him into some place where nobody could see them, and hug him tight, hiding his face into his neck and relaxing to the familiarity of his scent. Every time he looked into those clear eyes, he couldn’t help but smile. Every time he heard him speak, he wanted to kiss him. Letting go of his feelings wasn’t something he could do easily.

He cracked the door of Mitsunari’s room open.

«Mitsunari?»

The whole castle was silent, and the moon was high in the sky.

There was a rustle, with Mitsunari probably turning around in his bed to see who it was.

«What do you want, Ieyasu?» he asked, only a bit less stern than usual because of tiredness. They hadn’t arranged to meet that night.

«Can we sleep together?» Ieyasu said, a bit embarrassed. He sounded like a child who was feeling lonely at night, and in a way it wasn’t completely far from the truth.

There was a pause of silence in which Mitsunari was most likely trying to give a meaning to his words. It wasn’t rare that, when Ieyasu said something, the other just stared at him for a while, not sure of how he should interpret his words. Ieyasu couldn’t figure why, but they often didn’t understand each other; he found it funny, though, and laughed it off every time after explaining himself better.

«Fine. Come in.»

Ieyasu quietly slipped into the room, closing the door before approaching the futon his lover was lying in. That would’ve been the last night, he’d sworn to himself. One last night together, just because he kept rolling in his own bed unable to stop thinking about Mitsunari, and then he would’ve started to gradually put some distance between them. He had to.

He slid under the covers, huddling up next to the other man in order to let the both of them fit into that small space, and looked up at him with a shy smile. Mitsunari didn’t return it, but he leaned in to let their lips brush softly in a brief kiss, which made Ieyasu happy.

«I was thinking about you,» Ieyasu whispered, barely conscious of what he’d said.

«Why is that?» asked the other, snuggling a little closer.

«We haven’t talked all day, and I missed you,» Ieyasu admitted with a faint, embarrassed chuckle. «We haven’t even had the time to train together.»

«That’s not a rare event,» Mitsunari objected. «We are both putting all our efforts into properly serving Lord Hideyoshi. It’s only natural that we are busy.»

Ieyasu chuckled again. He’d always found amusing this side of Mitsunari that hardly ever got surprised. It was probably because everything he saw made sense to him, since he only saw what he needed to see, and that was enough. Despite everything, Ieyasu liked that. Just as he liked everything else in Mitsunari.

«That’s true. But I still missed you.»

Mitsunari looked at him with no expression; then he blurted out a very honest “You’re strange”, which made Ieyasu laugh a bit harder  _—_ although still under his breath, of course.

Ieyasu lifted his chin to steal another kiss from those lips he adored so much, a longer one, this time. He reached out to cup Mitsunari’s face, leaving a tender caress on his beautiful features. Oh, he loved Mitsunari so, so much… He did feel a little pathetic, promising he would’ve backed off and then crawling back to him, unable to stay away, but as he kissed those lovely lips he couldn’t manage to blame himself for longing them. They were thin and drew a wonderful line, and they were so incredibly soft when they pressed against his own… It was impossible for him not to wish for one more night spent between kisses and caresses. Settling that he needed to stop visiting that room was easy when he was alone and busy with work, but when they were together he was so captured by his love for Mitsunari that he stopped using his head, forgetting all his good purposes in an instant.

«Mitsunari…» he whispered in a sigh, as he wrapped an arm around his lover’s waist and pulled him yet a little closer.

He would’ve probably regretted it, the following morning. A part of him was conscious of that. Because every kiss they exchanged was another memory to add to all the beautiful moments they’d shared, every touch tied them closer together, making it more and more difficult to escape. How could he even conceive to escape from the arms of his beloved, though, how could he severe the bond he cherished the most…? But then again, there was no other way. Despite being so strong, theirs was a love that couldn’t survive. Despite their feelings being so pure, they couldn’t last long without being hurt. He needed to quit thinking of Mitsunari as his lover, that was the only way to save the both of them.

Ieyasu looked into those clear eyes, falling in love all over again with the sincerity they spoke with through beautiful, long eyelashes. He smiled weakly, calling himself a coward for not being able to be consistent with what his own reason told him. He knew what he had to do, but he didn’t have the strength to bring his actions to follow. Not that night, at least.

Mitsunari let his fingers run through Ieyasu’s short hair, gently scratching the skin below, as a sign of appreciation. Despite his cold demeanour he liked Ieyasu’s attentions, he liked Ieyasu’s warm touch, and Ieyasu knew that. He knew that Mitsunari was just as affectionate as he was, and that was probably what above all made everything so difficult: had Mitsunari been more indifferent towards him, Ieyasu wouldn’t have had to be afraid to break his heart. But there they were, brushing their noses together, hugging, cuddling, joining their lips in sweet kisses. Declaring their love with those silent gestures. Making it stronger.

He couldn’t say no that night.

Maybe the day after. Day by day, slowly, he would’ve put some distance between them. He would’ve done things properly, not to hurt anyone.

But all he was asking for now was one more night together.

**Author's Note:**

> Writing from Ieyasu’s perspective has been extremely difficult! I’m forever faithful to the Western Army (lol), but I wanted to try and describe his point of view too. Mainly, I wanted to show all his good intentions not to hurt Mitsunari, but at the same time we all know how it ended, so yeah, this contrast was the point, I hope it’s effective enough!  
> The title was taken from the song "One More Night" by Maroon 5, which together with the rest of this amazing iemitsu playlist (the link didn't work for some reason? so there you go https://8tracks.com/tsuki_/say-something) inspired this fic, thus making me very grateful *prayer emoji*  
> Thanks for reading!


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